This invention relates to windshields for golf carts and other slow-moving vehicles such as industrial and construction equipment. In particular, it is a two-piece windshield with a top half being vertically-slidable in channels to be opened and closed.
There have been ventically-slidable windows in architectural structures since the fifteenth century. It was one of the first methods tried for car windshields in The early 1900's. A means for sliding has always included some type of channel for edges of windows or windshields. Before air-conditioning and high-speed vehicles, this practice was so common that the now little-used term "rabbet" described a common channel in which windows were slid up-and-down. This old art has been revived now for windshields of slow-moving vehicles to provide openness and airflow in the absence of air-conditioning.
Prior construction and working relationship of the windows to the channels and to vehicles in which they were used were different from this invention, however. The channels were built into structure of the vehicle rather than attachable as provided by this invention. Prior two-piece windshields were constructed differently and operated differently. Other types of openable windshields have employed hinging arrangements and other mechanisms.
Different, but pertinent prior art includes the following patent documents:
______________________________________ Number Date Name Classification ______________________________________ 4,792,175 Dec. 20, 1988 Gerber 296/79 4,353,590 Oct. 12, 1982 Wei-Chuan 296/78.1 4,072,338 Feb. 7, 1978 Lawrence 296/28 C 1,110,729 Sept. 15, 1914 Townsend ______________________________________
The Gerber patent described a two-piece windshield with a top portion being the same as a bottom portion to make them easy to stack when they were taken out and not used in good weather. Each section had an inwardly-bent top edge and an outwardly-bent bottom. They were held with removable fasteners. Although a two-piece windshield, it was not slidable channels nor held in vertical position as this invention. The two pieces of this invention can remain attached to the vehicle when open, rather than being taken off and stacked.
The Wei-Chuan patent taught a two-piece motorcycle windshield with sides of a top piece attached to rods which were slidable up-and-down. Edges of the windshield itself were not slidable in channels. Further different from this invention, it was locked in position at a bottom of the top piece.
The Lawrence patent pivotally attached a wind frame to an operator's cab and had windows slidable in the pivotal frame.
The Townsend patent had rack teeth and pinions to raise and lower a windshield.